Development, implementation, and evaluation of a spiritual health promotion program for mothers of children with acute leukemia based on mobile health: A mixed-methods protocol study.

Abstract

Background: Considering the importance of the spiritual health promotion of Mothers of Children with Acute Leukemia (MoCwAL), designing a native mobile health (mHealth) application that is compatible with the beliefs, values, and cultural context of Iranian society is essential. This study aims to develop a Spiritual Health Promotion Program (SHPP) for MoCwAL based on a mHealth application, including design, implementation, and evaluation.

Materials and methods: This is a sequential exploratory mixed-methods study (qual → QUAN). This study will be conducted in four phases. The first phase includes the development of the content of the SHPP using Ewles and Simnett's (2010) designing pattern. After finalizing the SHPP, at the beginning of the second phase (mHealth application development), a panel of experts will be present. Based on the outputs obtained from this panel, the research team will proceed to design the application. The output of the second phase will be an initial version of the mHealth application. In the third phase, the usability and quality of mHealth application questionnaires will be evaluated. Results will be refined by the expert panel, and the final version of the application will be available. In the fourth phase, the SHPP for MoCwAL based on mHealth will be implemented as a quasi-experimental intervention, and mothers' spiritual health be evaluated.

Conclusion: This program can be useful in providing care, education, policy-making, and future research. Providing the SHPP in the form of an application will enable program users to benefit from the many advantages of information technology and will contribute to the expansion of the role of mHealth in the healthcare system and the strengthening of policies related to digital health in the field of chronic diseases.